Business Services Resources

Welcome to the Autumn/Winter edition of Business First Magazine.

Welcome to the Spring 24 edition of our Business First magazine.

Company directors, people with significant control of a company, or anyone who files on behalf of a company, must ensure they comply with new transparency rules from March 2024. 

There are many factors to consider when selling a business and it isn’t something that should be entered into lightly. Our free guide runs through some of the important considerations this involves.

Estate planning for business owners is a critical process that includes planning for the transfer of your assets and the management of your business in the event of your retirement, death or incapacity. Here are some essential steps and considerations for business owners when it comes to estate planning.

This guide will help you understand what to look for in finding and buying the ideal commercial premises for your needs.

Our Business Legal Services team pride themselves on being able to offer high quality ‘city style’ advice in a user friendly, cost effective manner to local, national and international businesses.

Our quarterly business magazine is packed full of features including creating a supportive workplace, sustainable buildings, legally compliant HR and EDI essentials.

In this issue we cover lots of topical business issues and challenges from Mergers, Layoffs, Going Global, Commercial Property and more

Katie Ash explains and answers some questions about settlement agreements.

Katie Ash, head of Employment Law, answers the most commonly asked questions about redundancy.

When it comes to starting a business, one of the most challenging but interesting tasks you must carry out is finding the right name. However, many people do not realise that there are restrictions on what you can name your business.

Over time, the gap between women’s and men’s median hourly earnings has been narrowing. In fact, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) it has fallen by over a quarter among full-time employees in the last decade.

 

It has been more than three years since the EU reference took place, during which time it’s fair to say the phrase ‘Brexit’ has dominated the headlines.

The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard ("MEES") came into force in England and Wales on 1 April 2018 by virtue of the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015.

In April 2018 new legislation increasing the minimum energy efficiency standards for commercial property was implemented, making it unlawful to enter a new lease on a commercial property with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of ‘F’ or ‘G’, the current lowest grades of EPC.

When we leave the European Union we will also leave the EU customs union. The question we all want to know the answer to is ‘what does that mean for me?’

The collapse of Carillion in January 2018 has already triggered disruption throughout the construction industry. Businesses subcontracted by Carillion will soon feel the effects of the liquidation of the second largest construction company in the UK, with smaller private companies likely to be hit the hardest. The domino effect of the collapse of such a massive company is unfortunately unavoidable at this stage. But what lessons could businesses learn from the fallout of Carillion’s demise?

If you are a company director, beware of acting in a way that is contrary to the articles of association of your company, even if the action may on the face of it seem logical. This was a point discovered, to his cost, by the director of BW Estate Ltd.

Auction Estates Ltd, a dedicated property auction house specialising in the sale of residential housing, commercial property, land and specialist property investments, has hit a major milestone this month having completed in excess of £10m worth of auction sales in its first twelve months of business.

In case you were not aware, the legal services provided in the UK are Great. But don’t just take our word for it; its official! A global drive to promote the UK’s £25 billion legal services sector at home and abroad has just been launched by the Lords justice spokesman Lord Keen at a reception in Singapore.

New research by the Open University has found that the cost of Britain’s skills shortages amounts to more than £2 billion annually due to higher salaries, temporary staffing bills and recruitment costs. The survey of 400 firms found that nine in ten respondents reported struggling to recruit workers with the correct skills within the last year. This is likely to exacerbate concerns over employers experiencing difficulties in filling key jobs, a situation many predict will be worsened after Brexit and a subsequent immigration clampdown.

If you’re a business owner outside the construction industry, then it’s quite likely that your knowledge of the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) is limited, and understandably so.

Changes to the way in which fees can be charged will soon make it more difficult for creditors to sue fraudulent directors.